Homemade Beer Insect Repellent
There are a wide variety of uses for beer, beyond cooling yourself on a hot summer day. It can also be mixed with other basic household ingredients to create an insect repellent that will safely keep the bugs from destroying your lawn and garden.
Beer has even been known to draw in slugs, who drink their fill and then die off, leaving your garden slime free. You do not have to spend a lot of money on beer to make this work. A leftover can of cheap, light beer will do the trick.
Things You Will Need
- Light beer
- Epsom salt
- Mouthwash
- Dry yeast
- Mixing bowl
- Funnel
- Spray bottle
Tip
The magnesium in Epsom salt helps you grow healthy grass, while the beer and mouthwash combination repel bugs.
Warning
You should not use beer insect repellent on flowering plants, as the ingredients could damage and kill your plants.
-
Open a can of light beer and allow it to go flat. You do not want to mix it while it is still carbonated, as it could make a big mess.
-
Pour 1 cup each of flat light beer, Epsom salt and mouthwash into a large mixing bowl.
-
Stir the beer, Epsom salt and mouthwash together thoroughly, making sure that the salt is completely dissolved.
-
Pour the contents through a funnel into a large spray bottle, and add half a package of dry yeast. Apply the spray bottle lid and shake thoroughly to help the yeast and any remaining salt dissolve.
-
Spray your lawn liberally. Spray around the perimeter of your garden to keep pests from passing the barrier.
-
Repeat the process in 20 to 30 days throughout the spring, summer and fall months.
The Drip Cap
- There are a wide variety of uses for beer, beyond cooling yourself on a hot summer day.
- Beer has even been known to draw in slugs, who drink their fill and then die off, leaving your garden slime free.
- Pour the contents through a funnel into a large spray bottle, and add half a package of dry yeast.
References
Writer Bio
Jennifer Hudock is an author, editor and freelancer from Pennsylvania. She has upcoming work appearing in two Library of the Living Dead Press anthologies and has been published in numerous print and online journals, including eMuse, Real TV Addict and Strange Horizons. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English/creative writing from Bloomsburg University.
Photo Credits
- Bottle with beer beer on a white reflecting surface image by Alexander Oshvintsev from Fotolia.com
- Bottle with beer beer on a white reflecting surface image by Alexander Oshvintsev from Fotolia.com
More Articles
